Page 13 of Reckless
“But the maple syrup I like to put in it reminds me of—”
“Rhett Eaton.” My sister’s eyes widen. “Control yourself.”
His lips twist, and his expression drips with sex. It’s borderline inappropriate, but based on Rhett’s past behavior, I already know him to be impulsive and unfiltered.
I blink away, out the big windows and over the snowy farmland.
Snow isstillfalling.
“I’m sorry.” Theo is standing over me when I glance up. I swear I look behind myself to see if he just said that to me. There’s a deer head with a lot of antlers hanging on the wall.
I point. “Why? Did you kill it?”
His lips lift, and the skin beside his eyes scrunches up just a little bit. “I wasn’t talking to the stag, Winter.”
Other conversations have begun to flow, and attention is no longer on Theo. Instead, it’s just his attention on me. Which is almost stifling.
“I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable on the drive here. It wasn’t my intention. Like...” His hand swipes through his hair, all tight on the sides and just a bit longer on top. Lending him a sort of sex-mussed quality. “At all.”
I nod but cross my arms like they might shield me from him. “Okay.”
His thick, dark brows pop up on his forehead. “Yeah? Is that like...apology accepted?”
“What if it’s not?” I arch one brow at him in challenge. And I almost don’t recognize myself.
Am I flirting with him?
Rob has officially pushed me over the edge. I’m flirting with a younger man at a family gathering, not because I like him, but just because...it feels good.
His features go almost somber. “That would be cruel because my self-worth is very tangled up in whether people like me. Being well-liked is my best quality.”
I blink. I almost tell him that isnothis best quality, but that seems cruel, even for me.
“I’ll be heartbroken if you don’t like me,” he adds as he drops to a crouch in front of me. Coming to eye level does nothing but increase the intimacy of this conversation.
I roll my eyes. “I thought you wanted me to accept your apology. Now I have to like you too?”
He shrugs, a playful grin making his dimples pop. “They’re basically the same thing.”
I snort.This man.“They are not the same thing.”
The tip of his tongue darts over his bottom lip, and my eyes follow raptly. “Agree to disagree.”
I stick my hand out like we’re making a business transaction, forcing my features into a cool mask. The same one that has served me so well all these years. “I accept your apology,” I say, using the most detached voice I can muster. “But I dislike you.”
He chuckles, and it’s deep and warm, all amused like I’m just a challenge—and not an intimidating one. “I can work with that for now,” is what he responds with before accepting the handshake.
And when our fingertips touch, there’s a flash of electricity again.
But this time it has nothing to do with the dry prairie air.
4
Theo
Mom:You should have come on this cruise. The weather is glorious.
Theo:Do you even understand how weird it is to look for dates together as a family? Confined to a boat? I would throw myself over the railing.
